One Man's Notes on Movies and Other Life Obsessions by Chuck Wilson

June 23, 2014

I have too many books and not enough shelfing space and so lately have been thinking of having a party at which each guest would be allowed to choose 2 or 3 books to take home. To make room for the books yet to come. Good idea/scary idea. I imagine having to leave the room as people chose because I'd be unable to stop myself from muttering, "No, no. You can't take that one!" and grabbing the book back, like a mad hoarder (and a very bad host). I actually did a similar thing when I was in my 20s and to this day, mourn the fact that I gave away hardcover copies of Stephen R. Donaldson's first six "Thomas Covenant" novels. So I probably won't have my give-away party. I should have a party though. I haven't had a party in 12 years, and that's just sad. But none of this is what I meant to say. All I meant to say is that I love my books, though I've read too few of them. But...they're there when I need them (which is usually at 2:00 in the morning). Tonight, I came across the movie "The Natural." with Robert Redford, on cable, and though I turned it off, I then had to get out of bed to go into the living room to prove to myself that No, I do not have a copy of the 1962 Bernard Malamud novel on which the film is based. I don't have it but that's okay. I read it, loved it, remember it. But I did find a copy of Malamud's collected stories, some of which I've read, and a paperback of his 1979 novel "Dubins Lives," which I've never read. So I brought it to bed, and read a dozen pages, and felt a great sense of both discovery and satisfaction. Then I remembered (and wanted to tell you) what the great (but cranky) sci-fi/fantasy writer Harlan Ellison reportedly says when people ask him if he's read all the books in his house: "No. I haven't. What good is a library full of books you've already read?"